Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty(PlayStation Network (PS3)) by doctor_kaz on August 16, 2014

I absolutely loved Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, but I skipped Quest for Booty when I read everywhere how short it was. When I got a copy with Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus, I was pleasantly surprised to find my free copy of this game. After years of contemplating playing this game, I jumped right into it. It is short, and I am perfectly fine with that, but the biggest problem with this add-on is that it is surprisingly boring. For a four hour game, it has way too much expo...

South Park: The Stick of Truth is a mediocre jRPG grafted onto a below average episode of South Park. It is above average as licensed products go, but that is a pretty low bar to hurdle. The game benefits from being associated with South Park, and it is a perfect example of how something can be worth more than the sum of its parts. Long time fans of the show should be satisfied for at least a while from this experience, which, for better or for worse, doesn&rsquo;t last very long. At the end of ...

If you have been playing video games for a long time, then you are probably already familiar with the feeling that you will get early on while playing this game &ndash; crushing disappointment &ndash; that feeling of having high hopes for a game, only to find those hopes dashed when the game that you play ends up being less polished, less beautiful, and less fun than you had hoped. Watch_Dogs is not the worst game that I have ever played, but it is one of the most disappointing. It doesn&rsquo;t...

I am baffled. Absolutely, totally baffled by the critical reception that this game has received. I find it unfathomable that anybody over the age of about 15 could find the story in this game to be deep, complex, or endearing. Gone Home is a short experience that is worth nowhere near the $20 price tag that it carries on Steam. I bought it on sale for 66% off and it wasn't even worth it then. It lasts about two hours, which is about an hour and 45 minutes too long. The game's exploration and le...

Say what you will, good or bad, about Infamous: Second Son. One thing that you can&rsquo;t say about it is that it was designed as a lazy, cookie cutter sequel or that it lacks ambition. It is a game that is impressive, both technologically and artistically. It is also a game that appears to have been designed from the ground up, keeping the spirit of the previous games alive without being just an iteration in the series. There are some good and bad changes from the previous games, and unfortuna...

The review deck above pretty much sums up my feelings about this game. It is a potentially excellent game, almost totally ruined by what is possibly the most incredibly stupid design decision in the history of video gaming -- making the levels timed. What is otherwise a relaxing, exploration-based experience is completely ruined by the fact that you only have a few minutes to finish every level. There are items on each level that you can find to increase your timer, but if you get stuck or hi...

Nowadays, gaming review sites are handing out 10/10 and 5/5 scores like they are candy. It is a shame, because this scoring inflation leaves no room for truly excellent games like The Last of Us to differentiate themselves. The Last of Us is, quite possibly, the best game that has come out this generation. It combines survival horror elements, stealth, and third-person shooting into an experience that is unlike any other. It manages to stand out despite being a member of the overcrowded post...

Bioshock: Infinite is the hardest game for me to review since – well – since the first Bioshock. Normally, when I give a game four stars, I spend most of the review telling you why the game is fun and why you should probably play it. With this game, I instead feel compelled to tell you why it is not a masterpiece worthy of the lavish praise that it is receiving from every corner of the internet. I think back to the way that gamers used to look at games, and, ten years ago, this game would have g...

Divinity 2: Ego Draconis is a game that looks totally derivative at first glance. It is yet another game set in a Tolkien-esque fantasy world, where everyone speaks with a British accent while wearing armor, swinging swords, and casting spells. It has its own flavor though, and it deviates from your average, typical RPG in a lot of ways that benefit the game significantly. The signature mechanic of Divinity 2 is your ability to assume the form of a dragon, but it also has a lot of subtle benefit...

After falling madly in love with the first two iterations of Ratchet and Clank on the PS3, I decided to go back and experience the original trilogy. After all, They’ve got to still be great games, just without the graphics, right? To my surprise, I found that the graphics from this classic trilogy have aged better than the gameplay. The colorful art style, shown in 720p for this collection, is the kind of timeless look that doesn’t lose its appeal. The gameplay, however, suffers from some littl...

Morrowind had problems. They were addressed somewhat in Oblivion. But then Oblivion had problems, which were addressed somewhat in Fallout 3. For Skyrim, Bethesda stuck with the same basic formula as their other huge open-ended fantasy role playing games, but they also imported a lot of the good parts about Fallout 3. Those good parts included a slightly smaller world with more focus on design, more interesting quests and dialog, and better choice and consequences. Most of the flaws with Morrowi...

2009’s best game was also its most surprising one – Batman: Arkham Asylum. It was a game that rose out of the cesspool of comic book games with its incredible graphics, excellent combat, terrific voice acting, and levels that offered lots of exploration. Fortunately for us gamers, developer RockSteady understood why Arkham Asylum was such a great game, and they have matched their previous feat with another excellent experience – Batman: Arkham City. When it comes to graphics, voice acting, dialo...

The name of this game, “Dishonored”, might be a reference to the protagonist who is framed for murder. Perhaps, however, it is a description of lead designer Harvey Smith. Or, maybe, it describes the legion of sycophantic gaming journalists with no standards who have heaped endless praised upon this steaming turd. Regardless of how ironically named this game is, Dishonored is not a good game. It is, in fact, quite bad. It’s ugly, its story is poorly developed, and, worst of all, its stealth-acti...

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4(PlayStation 3) by doctor_kaz on September 06, 2012

The original Lego Star Wars was one of the most pleasantly surprising games ever made. It was a perfect marriage of Lego and a widely loved intellectual property. Since that original game, the Lego game franchise has struggled somewhat, looking for that same combination. With the Harry Potter series, it has found that wonderful groove again. Harry Potter is a perfect fit for this series of video games, and it is also the best Lego game yet.There have been so many of these games, that you probabl...

Darksiders II (Limited Edition)(PC) by doctor_kaz on September 06, 2012

The video game industry today is loaded with annualized franchises and sequels being crapped out like cheap toys off of a Chinese assembly line. In this environment, sequels like Darksiders 2 are extremely rare. Darksiders 2 is not just an iteration on its predecessor. It is the most massive expansion of a series since at least Assassin’s Creed 2. Darksiders 2 is so much different from the first game that if they didn’t have the same name on the box, you might get the impression that they aren’t...

In short, Vanquish is the Japanese take on the Unreal-powered, gray, cover-based, space marine shooter genre. It is so loaded with today’s overused clichés that it is almost amusing. It also throws some specifically Japanese touches in there, like a marathon opening cut scene, a score summary at the end of each mission, Metal Gear style dialog boxes, and the occasional short skirt with a low camera angle. Despite having so much that you have seen before, however, Vanquish manages to have its own...

Ahhh, “games as art”. It is a debate that seemingly never ends. Bastion is the latest exhibit on the side of the “game are art” crowd. Unfortunately, though, what it really is is pseudo-intellectual faux art. It is a game whose simple story and mediocre action-RPG gameplay are disguised with buckets of style and unnecessarily cryptic dialog. There’s a word for that, actually, and that word is “pretentious”. Real art is original and creative, and it is only as weird or as thick as it has to be. B...

After being thoroughly underwhelmed by the mediocre and poorly-ported-to-PC Saints Row 2, I had little interest in playing Saints Row the Third. After hearing about how much better it was than SR2 from just about everyone who played both games, I decided to give this one a try. It looks great, it plays pretty well, and, in general, it is one of the better open-ended action games of this generation. It doesn’t have any big flaws, other than the fact that it doesn’t do any one thing well enough to...

Castle Crashers(PlayStation Network (PS3)) by doctor_kaz on August 04, 2012

Every once in a while, I play a game where I am astonished at the unbelievable, mind-boggling, incredibly incredibly incredibly stupid design decisions that went into making it. Castle Crashers is one of those games. I can't believe that this game made it out the door without testers screaming about it. Maybe they just decided that that whole "testing thing" wasn't worthwhile.Here's the biggest problem with this turd -- the game has the most retarded checkpoint save system ever conceived. It doe...

In 2009, Ubisoft shocked the gamers of the world by releasing one of the greatest sequels of all time, Assassins’ Creed 2. It was a huge, unexpected step forward in an industry that is riddled with lazy big publishers crapping out sequels like cheap toys rolling off of an assembly line. It would have been borderline impossible for Ubisoft to one-up themselves again like that for Assassins’ Creed – Brotherhood. It should come as no surprise to you then that this game, which came out onl...

I almost didn’t play Resistance 3. Having been merely satisfied with the first Resistance, I played Resistance 2 eagerly. That game was almost a disaster, thanks to all of the changes made by the airheaded dolts in the Marketing Department to make the game more like Call of Duty and Halo. Resistance 3 returns to its roots, and makes a few improvements too. The weapon wheel is back, and, along with it, the ability to kill enemies in about 20 interesting ways at any one time. This game presents a ...

If you are a fan of Pirhanna Bytes’s games, then, chances are, you are already used to playing old school, immersive RPGs with some rough edges. In the past, the benefits have outweighed the flaws, and that was especially true of Risen. Risen wasn’t just Pirhanna Bytes’s best game. It was also the best RPG of this generation. Risen 2, however, is a really hard game to love. It is as rough around the edges and unpolished as any game that this developer has ever made, but unlike Gothic, Gothic 2, ...

DeathSpank is a funny game – a really funny game. It is one of the most genuinely funny games to come out in a long time. It is really close to being a great game, but some design flaws bog it down and it starts to get boring about five hours in. It is an action RPG in the style of Diablo, and loot lust is implemented very well. On top of that, it offers a semi open-ended world to explore, which gives it a much richer adventuring feel than Diablo. Unfortunately, character development is so poorl...

PixelJunk SideScroller(PlayStation Network (PS3)) by doctor_kaz on June 10, 2012

My son and I have played through the Pixeljunk Shooter series about five times now, having found every single treasure in both games multiple times. When I heard that the next entry into this series would not be another Shooter, but an old school sidescroller, I was pretty disappointed. The bonus level in Shooter 2 wasn’t all that special, so I held off on buying Sidescroller until recently. I probably should skipped it altogether. There isn’t much nice that I can say about it. It is light on co...

The first Dead Space was one of the more pleasant surprises of 2008. The underpopulated, oft neglected survival horror genre only gets one or two good entries at the most, and Dead Space was one that practically came out of nowhere. It was a great game that pulled in the best of what the genre had to offer from other games, while adding the bloody and innovative “strategic dismemberment. The sequel continues, and actually improves upon the bloody, noisy combat of the first game. However, it does...

PixelJunk Shooter(PlayStation Network (PS3)) by doctor_kaz on April 02, 2012

There have been more than a few good downloadable 2D games to come out this generation. The best of all of them might be PixelJunk Shooter. It is a colorful and stylish dual stick shooter, with lots of great puzzles, excellent fluid physics, and a great soundtrack. The most common flaw pointed out for this game is its length, but even that isn’t bad for the price. If you overlooked this gem back in 2009, it should be next on your “to do” list for downloadable PS3 games.Pixeljunk Shooter is anoth...

The Halo series has achieved legendary status on the XBox, and with good reason. The first game is probably the finest console shooter ever made. It featured an unparalleled combination of weapon balance, enemy AI, great use of vehicles, and an unforgettable soundtrack. It also featured an excellent regenerating shields mechanic that was so successful that it has become a popular feature emulated by many other shooters. A port of Halo came to the PC in 2003, and even though the port seemed slopp...

Every year or two, a highly ambitious RPG comes along that is aimed at hardcore PC and role-playing fans. Games like Arcanum, Boiling Point, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, and Gothic 3 offer wholly unique experiences, but at a cost. They can be very fun, but often, their lack of polish exceeds their ambition level. How many games from small developers like Troika and Pirhanna Bytes could have been Game of the Year candidates if they had only been free of bugs or if they had operated smoot...

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords(PC) by doctor_kaz on April 01, 2012

Genre mixing is nothing new. We have RTS/RPG hybrids, MMOFPS's, and FPS/RPG hybrids. Now, with Puzzle Quest, we have – the RPG/Puzzle hybrid? Yes, you read that right. The combination doesn't sound quite right, and, in practice, it is not always an elegant blend. However, Puzzle Quest is still a great, cheap game with extremely satisfying, addictive gameplay inside of an interesting RPG framework. It is not going to challenge Crysis in the graphics department any time soon and the story is fairl...

By now, you are probably familiar with the controversy surrounding "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men", the latest game from Io Interactive. The studio that gave us Hitman and Freedom Fighters has now given us this Tarantino-inspired, over-the-top, ultra-violent squad-based shooter. The best way to describe Kane and Lynch would be as a retarded and R-rated version of Freedom Fighters. Many of the negative remarks that have been written about the game are true. It is loaded with problems, and at times fee...

"Gears of War" arrived on the PC in 2007 after making quite a splash on the Xbox 360. In addition to widespread critical acclaim and numerous Game of the Year awards, the game also enjoyed huge sales numbers as one of the most popular games of 2006. After playing the it, I don't quite understand why. This is one of those games whose popularity has got me completely baffled. When I first played it, I was shocked by how mediocre it is. It's a fantastic-looking game and an impressive showcase for t...

Most games build gameplay from the ground up and add a story after that. Dreamfall, like most adventure games, has been designed in the opposite manner. It begins with the story and then fits a variety of gameplay elements into it. It's a good thing that Dreamfall has such an excellent story, because the gameplay ranges from broken to nonexistent. Once you strip away the lengthy cut scenes and dialog, what remains is an unsatisfying mix of painfully simple puzzles and half-baked stealth and figh...

I am not a huge fan of games where you pay $50 for a 6-8 hour experience, but if there is one game that gets this formula right, it might be Call of Duty 4. It is one short-lived but incredibly thrill-packed ride. This game is relentlessly and perfectly paced, and it packs more adrenaline-pumping action into its short campaign than a lot of games can conjure up in twice the time. The level design is superb, and it has the best and most mind-blowing scripted events of any game in years. Even if y...

Years from now, Crysis will probably be remembered as a technical masterpiece with fantastic graphics. This reputation is well-earned, as Crysis sports an amazing engine that made every other shooter obsolete the day that it came out. The game compromises nothing when it comes to lighting, level sizes, physics, shaders, and polygon counts. Chances are, if you are reading this review, you have already heard about how great the nuts and bolts are. However, Crysis isn't just another pretty face tha...

The Penumbra series ended up being a very pleasant surprise. It is a cross between a traditional adventure and 1st person survival horror. The combination of gameplay styles feels very refreshing and new, and just as important, the story is captivating too. This first chapter, Overture, is a successful kick-off of the series. If it has one major shortcoming, it's the controls, which can be insanely frustrating at key times. If you are looking for a refreshing take on the adventure genre, and if ...

The Penumbra series very pleasant surprise when it come out. This series is a cross between a traditional adventure and 1st person survival horror. The combination of gameplay styles feels very refreshing and new, and just as important, the story is captivating too. The second installment, "Black Plague", brings the series to a close with improved gameplay and a satisfying end to the story. Like Overture, Black Plague is creepy and scary, and it is filled with moderately challenging but intuitiv...

When it came out, many Wii fans were clamoring for more mature titles to offset the deluge of games aimed at family-oriented audiences. The fans were also hoping for a lightsaber game that uses the Wii-mote. What more fun could you have than slicing off heads and limbs with an electric sword by swinging your arm? Finally, the fans were screaming for more hardcore games that have gameplay depth, instead of minigame collections. At first glance, "No More Heroes" sounded like a dream come true, bec...

Sometimes, a unique game comes along for the PC that was designed by a small developer with the grandest of visions – games like Gothic, Arcanum, and Vampire – The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Frequently, these games deliver a lot of quality content and some excellent, unique gameplay mechanics. They are also often plagued with bugs and other holes that show just how much the developer was stretched to make such a unique title. Boiling Point: The Road to Hell falls firmly into that group, but it is n...

I wish that I could have been in the Ubisoft board meeting where the "Assassins Creed" project was approved. I wonder if it went something like this…"CEO: Okay, guys, we need some surefire winners to keep our stockholders happy this year. I want a design document for Splinter Cell 6, another Rainbow Six game, and three more Tom Clancy games on my desk by tomorrow morning.""Studio Head: Um, actually sir, we have this new idea that we've been thinking about.""CEO: What? New idea? That's nonsense! ...

Rockstar is the king of the hill when it comes to the open-ended action game, and Bully is yet another jewel in that crown. It is an excellent game, and one of the few great third party games on the Wii. It isn't quite as ambitious or addictive as Rockstar's flagship Grand Theft Auto series, but it is every bit as inventive and funny. Bully deserves to be mentioned in the same vein as the PS2 era GTA games, but perhaps one notch below. Some issues such as subpar graphics, minor control issues, a...